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Economy

Euro, Stocks Dive As Cyprus Bank Run Follows Bailout Levy

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG

Worldcrunch

NICOSIA – Global markets tumbled Monday as new doubts spread about the solvency of the eurozone with the Cypriot government preparing to impose a new levy on bank deposits in order to qualify for bailout funds.

Finance ministers in the eurozone Sunday had demanded that Cypriots pay up to 10% of their bank deposits in exchange for 10 billion euro bailout package. Panicked residents of the Mediterranean island nation began withdrawing their money from their accounts to avoid being hit by the levy, which would take effect this week.

The latest events have shaken investors, who fear such a bank run could be repeated in other troubled European economies. Shares fell in both Asia and Europe as the trading week opened, while the euro plunged nearly two percent at its lowest moment Monday.

“Traders and investors are aghast as these measures,” said chief market strategist at CMC Markers in Sydney, Michael McCarthy to Bloomberg Television.

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Photo by - Leonid Mamchenkov

The Cypriot government is reportedly working on a levy reduction from 6.7% to 3% for deposits under 100,000 euros. Anything above this amount would be taxed between 9.9% to 12.5%, according to a Reuters source close to the consultations.

With many Russian-controlled bank accounts on the island, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the levy “unjust, unprofessional and dangerous,” reports Reuters.

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LGBTQ Plus

My Wife, My Boyfriend — And Grandkids: A Careful Coming Out For China's Gay Seniors

A series of interviews in Wuhan with aging gay men — all currently or formerly married to women — reveals a hidden story of how Chinese LGBTQ culture is gradually emerging from the shadows.

Image of two senior men playing chinese Checkers.

A friendly game of Checkers in Dongcheng, Beijing, China.

Wang Er

WUHAN — " What do you think of that guy sitting there, across from us? He's good looking."

" Then you should go and talk to him."

“ Too bad that I am old..."

Grandpa Shen was born in 1933. He says that for the past 40 years, he's been "repackaged," a Chinese expression for having come out as gay. Before his wife died when he was 50, Grandpa Shen says he was was a "standard" straight Chinese man. After serving in the army, he began working in a factory, and dated many women and evenutually got married.

"Becoming gay is nothing special, I found it very natural." Grandpa Shen says he discovered his homosexuality at the Martyrs' Square in Wuhan, a well-known gay men's gathering place.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Wuhan used to have different such ways for LGBTQ+ to meet: newspaper columns, riversides, public toilets, bridges and baths to name but a few. With urbanization, many of these locations have disappeared. The transformation of Martyrs' Square into a park has gradually become a place frequented by middle-aged and older gay people in Wuhan, where they play cards and chat and make friends. There are also "comrades" (Chinese slang for gay) from outside the city who come to visit.

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